Jarl: Great white shark's approach offers chance to spotlight species

By Katie Jarl

Published 2:51 pm, Saturday, July 5, 2014

Photo: Stephan Savoia, STF

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In this Sept. 13, 2012, photo, Captain Brett McBride streams seawater over the gills of a nearly 15-foot, 2,292-pound great white shark on the research vessel Ocearch in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Chatham, Mass. A crew of researchers and fishermen are tagging great white sharks off Cape Cod in an unorthodox way. The Ocearch team baits the fish and leads them onto a lift, tagging and taking blood, tissue and semen samples up close from the worldâs most feared predator. The real-time satellite tag tracks the shark each time its dorsal fin breaks the surface, plotting its location on a map. (AP Photo/Stephan Savoia) less

In this Sept. 13, 2012, photo, Captain Brett McBride streams seawater over the gills of a nearly 15-foot, 2,292-pound great white shark on the research vessel Ocearch in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of ... more

Photo: Stephan Savoia, STF

Jarl: Great white shark's approach offers chance to spotlight species

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The Lone Star State is abuzz over an unusual visitor: Katherine, a great white shark tagged by the ocean conservation and research group OCEARCH, is coming to Texas. Katherine began her journey off the coast of Massachusetts last fall, collecting a string of fans along the way. Her newest fans are following her migratory route as she traverses south.

Globally, sharks are in trouble. Before Katherine reaches our coast, hundreds of thousands of sharks will be killed around the world for their fins. Every year, 26 million to 73 million sharks are killed to supply the global trade in shark fins. Today, one-quarter of shark and related species are threatened with extinction. During the past few decades, shark populations have experienced significant declines, some by more than 90 percent.

The demand for shark fins drives the over-exploitation of sharks and fuels "shark finning" - slicing fins off a shark, often while the animal is still alive, and throwing the rest of the body back into the water. Unable to swim, sharks die a slow and painful death from blood loss, predation or suffocation. The practice is cruel and wasteful, with less than 5 percent of the shark utilized.

The fins are used in shark fin soup, an expensive Chinese delicacy that sells for as much as $150 a bowl. The high price of shark fins, compared with the low value of shark meat, is the economic incentive for fishing vessels to keep only the fins from sharks they catch. The vessels' freezers are used for higher-value fish, such as tuna.

Shark finning is prohibited in U.S. federal and state waters. However, it is unchecked on the high seas and foreign national waters with weak regulations or enforcement. Over 80 countries send fins of their shark catches to Hong Kong to be processed - a laborious procedure involving boiling, manually removing the skin, drying and bleaching - before the products are re-exported around the world, including to Texas. Because close to 90 percent of shark fins imported into the U.S. are from Hong Kong, fins here could come from finned sharks, endangered or threatened species, including Katherine's relatives. A 2012 study by Stony Brook University's Institute for Ocean Conservation Science found fins from endangered shark species were found for sale in the U.S. market.

To stop contributing to the sharks' plight, eight states and three Pacific territories have enacted legislation prohibiting the sale and trade of fins. Last week, Massachusetts became the ninth state to pass such a bill. In Texas, state Rep. Eddie Lucio, D-Brownsville, sponsored similar legislation during the 2013 legislative session. The bill received overwhelming support, including that of Texan actor Kyle Chandler and his daughter Sawyer. Unfortunately, the bill didn't advance before the session ended.

Across the Pacific in China, home to the largest shark fin market, changes are taking place as well. Several conservation organizations, including Humane Society International, a global affiliate of The Humane Society of the United States, conduct outreach campaigns to urge the public to shun shark fins. Last year, the campaign's progress culminated with the Chinese government's issuance of guidelines that prohibit serving shark fins at all official functions.

Texas too can play a role in the growing global effort to save sharks. As residents of a coastal state, Texans appreciate the importance of ocean conservation. The buzz surrounding Katherine is a great example of our passion about the oceans and the animals living in them. Texas can help not just by following Katherine, but also by supporting legislation that would ban the sale of shark fins.

Jarl is Texas state director for The Humane Society of the United States.